A Helping Hand
for IoT

Bosch iGlove

Our cross-disciplinary team of interaction, industrial and user experience designers conceived a new glove for Bosch that tracks hand movements and translates them into precise gesture commands. Its human-centered approach will have a big hand in shaping the future of manufacturing and IoT.

How it Helps

With training and practice our hands become incredibly efficient at very complex movements. But it takes time to get it just right. What if we could track all the complex movements from an expert and train a beginner to quickly be able to do the same? The iGlove from Bosch has been created to do just that.

One particular use for this is on the factory floor. Mapping out hand movements from experienced employees, it is possible to train new employees faster, reduce ramp-up times and yield better productivity levels.

How it Works

The iGlove is integrated with MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System Units) that detect and capture real time 3D data from each finger. It then uses Al to translate the data into precise gesture commands. Using sensor technology it traces continuous hand motion and transmits them in real-time for use in tracking, training, or even safety audits. This ensures that manufacturers make processes faster, safer, and easier.

"We worked closely with Bosch to develop the concept while also leveraging specialists in linguistics, anthropology, and ergonomic engineering for a human-centered and globally applicable approach." -- Yilin Gu, creative director ID

What's Next

You can imagine all the areas where training hand movements can become invaluable. Take for example, the automotive industry. During assembly, a small car component can require dozens of small parts. With the iGlove, everything can be tracked to improve efficiency and ensure that no part goes missing. In this growing field, human-centered design that improves productivity will give future developers and product designers even better data that will continue to advance the future of IoT.

User experience research leads to breakthrough ideas like this every day. There are plenty more areas where products of IoT can make a huge difference, as long as we base the concept upon the true human behaviors.